Wing's Glendening shutting down top centers in the league

[jammer2]

  Mike Babcock seems to have found himself quite the weapon. In recent games, the 4th line featuring Glendening has shut down some of the best players in the league, Getzlaf and Malkin have recently put up goose eggs playing this very effective 4th line. Other members of the line are Jokim Andersson and Drew Miller. They don't have the flash and dash of previous checking lines in Detroit, such as the famous grind line of the Cup years....but they are getting the job done.

 

 

 http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2014/11/09/wings-gritty-fourth-line-creates-favorable-matchups/18760557/

 

  Question for the Wings fans...how long does Babcock stick with the struggling kids, ie Jurco, Tatar etc. I have not caught a Wings game in a while, so was interested to see your guys take on this situation. I suspect it will come down to their play away from the puck, are they still getting the job done in the defensive end, etc....

 

  Pulkkanen is knocking on the door among many others. Would it hurt Jurco and Tatar to get sent down to find their games, would it crush their confidence. Do you think this is just a rough stretch and they will snap out of it?

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Bolts pay a visit to Detroit today...game starts in about 3 hours in fact....

Will be interesting to see how Mike Babcock uses that 'effective 4th line' against the Lightning.

 

Fortunately for TB, their scoring is spread out over 4 lines for the most part, so shutting down one line won't guarantee you shut down the Bolts scoring overall.

That said, the Lightning's current top line is Stamkos at C, with wings Valteri Filppula (yes, Valteri has transitioned to wing just fine playing with Stammer) and either Ondrej Palat or Ryan Callahan as the other wing.

 

Let's say Glendening and his mates are assigned to these guys, that leaves a 2nd line of Tyler Johnson at C, with wingers Ondrej Palat or Callahan (whichever isn't on the top line) and Alex Killorn or Nikita Kucherov as the other winger.

Still a pretty formidable 2nd.

 

3rd line usually consists of the "Russians", wingers Vladimir Namestikov, Nikita Kucherov or Alex Killornov (if they aren't on a top six line), and JT Brownov (that's JT Brown for those of you not catching on to the Russian themed line here...hehehe).

Again, a pretty good line with scoring potential.

 

Then of course, you have TB's own 4th line, which features Brian Boyle at C, Brandon Morrow, and yes, Jonathan Drouin has seen regular time with the two rugged vets here....to learn the play away from the puck, as TB prepares him to be a regular on a top six line.

 

I am betting Coach Jon Cooper would LIKE to have his own 4th line matched up with Detroit's Glendening line whenever possible, while assigning his Russian 3rd line against Detroit's top line....or have them flipped where the Russians cover the Red Wing 4th and have the Boyle-Morrow-Drouin line cover the Detroit top line.

That will be made difficult with the Wings having last change, but it is nice to know the TB coach will have some flexibility due to all his lines being pretty effective.

I mean, TB's own 4th line isn't the typical "only 6 or 7 min" ice time per game...they get more than that typically, as the Bolts tend to spread the ice time over all the lines for the most part.

 

I think the game comes to the better defensive coverage from both team's blue lines and of course, the goaltending, but watching TB try to cover Detroit's best, while the Wings try to figure out how best to shut down ANY of TB's lines should be fun to watch.

 

Both the Wings and Bolts have a nice core of young players to build around, and while TB's have been progressing nicely, I know the Wings' young players have had hiccups here and there, to your point @jammer2 ....as a TB fan with a vested interest in this one, I am hoping the Bolts keep them struggling just a bit for at least this game heading into tonight.

[jammer2]

@TropicalFruitGirl26   The second line is "usually" Johnson centering Palat and Kucherov...at least it's been that way for a few games now. Talk about excellent secondary scoring, Johnson is up to 15 pts now, and thankfully seems to be shooting more. I think his assists will always outnumber the goals, but he has such a nice shot, I'd like to see him be a bit more selfish and shoot more often.

 

  One of the huge advantages of having 2 scoring lines clicking is having the ability to ease Druoin into things slowly. He seemed to be working well with Namestikov. I think the Bolts are handling his development just fine. He's accomplished everything he can in the QHL. He needs to be playing against faster, meaner players moving forward. I'm fine with him playing limited time in the bottom six, he's so smart and talented, you just know he will not be down there for long.

[SpikeDDS]

We talked about Glendening toward the end of last season. Mike Babcock was quoted as saying:

"Other than Nick Lidstrom, Steve Yzerman, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Crosby, Thaves, and Bergeron, Luke Gendening is the most competitive player I've ever coached."

Now , at the time, he had absolutely no offensive stats to back that up, and I accused Babcock of possibly having a mancrush on Glendening, because that is an awfully exclusive company to put him in.

This would seem to follow from his assessment, though. Babcock really believes in winning teams simply having the will to compete. He champions that aspect of players more than just about any others. He repeatedly says it in pressers. When we don't play well, he usually says it's from a lack of will to compete. Apparently, he has been seeing this in Glendening from the start, and Luke has begun to learn and cherish this role. Perhaps this he could be a premier shutdown guy defensively.

Time will tell. I'll say this, guys who DO have the kind of will he's talking about impact the game, and I'll be all for it if Glendening lives up to being on that list.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

@SpikeDDS

 

You know, regarding that group of players, yes they are all competitive, but then, there are LOTS of those in the NHL.

But that group that was mentioned, guys like Henrik Zetterberg and Patrice Bergeron (I am assuming it is Patrice), those guys do what they do WITHOUT the fanfare and many outside of their markets not really knowing about them because they play in the shadows of more well known players.

Two other examples of the kind of 'shut down' guys who never got the ink they deserved are Brian Rolston and John Madden, who played in their primes for the Devils, Rolston doing his best work with the Bruins, Devils and Wild.

 

It takes a special kind of player to compete night in, night out at the NHL level, and not have the sexy numbers or fame to go along with it, yet continue to do what they do and be an integral part of a team's success.

 

If Luke Glendening is anywhere NEAR that kind of player, he will be indispensable for years to come without fans outside of the Detroit market even knowing he is a huge reason why his team is so successful.

Like you said though, time will tell......that kind of 'thankless' work (well as far as media attention anyways....fans of the team and the coaches and players know better) CAN wear on a guy....again, he will have to be a special kind of player to be good at what he does, while his teammates soak up the glory.

[jammer2]

"Other than Nick Lidstrom, Steve Yzerman, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Crosby, Thaves, and Bergeron, Luke Gendening is the most competitive player I've ever coached."

 

 

  WOW....that is high praise from Babber, who is an elite student of the game. Looks like we only seeing the tip of the iceberg also, what a find for the Wings!

[jammer2]

  @SpikeDDS  Hmmmm, I always had him pegged for 22ish age wise....but nope, he turns 26 in April. A quick glance at his career stats explains why he's so old breaking into the league. 4 full years at Michigan, one year spent in the ECHL (cause the Wings were so stacked at the AHL level) and another season and a half at the AHL level. . What a nice story, there is not many ECHL success stories.

 

 http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=116638

 

  Usually, playing in the ECHL is the impending kiss of death to a career. Since Babcock already considers Glenner(™ jammer2) an impact player, he is in a very select group of ECHL grads at the NHL level. If you look at his 2nd and 4th years at Michigan, he had 21 pts in 41 games, some respectable numbers in the lower scoring NCAA. On top of all the wicked compete level, there may just be some hidden offense in the total package. Once again, the Wings scouts prove they are the best in the business.

 

 For those interested, a really nice article on the ECHL. It mentions former players, coaches, officials...heck, even announcers that have gotten experience down there and gone on to bigger and better things. I had *no* idea that Johnathan Quick was an ECHL grad. I'm thinking he is their best player ever?

 

 http://www.echl.com/number-of-echl-players-to-reach-nhl-increases-to-505-p182557

[J0e Th0rnton]

  @SpikeDDS  Hmmmm, I always had him pegged for 22ish age wise....but nope, he turns 26 in April. A quick glance at his career stats explains why he's so old breaking into the league. 4 full years at Michigan, one year spent in the ECHL (cause the Wings were so stacked at the AHL level) and another season and a half at the AHL level. . What a nice story, there is not many ECHL success stories.

 

 http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=116638

 

  Usually, playing in the ECHL is the impending kiss of death to a career. Since Babcock already considers Glenner(™ jammer2) an impact player, he is in a very select group of ECHL grads at the NHL level. If you look at his 2nd and 4th years at Michigan, he had 21 pts in 41 games, some respectable numbers in the lower scoring NCAA. On top of all the wicked compete level, there may just be some hidden offense in the total package. Once again, the Wings scouts prove they are the best in the business.

 

 For those interested, a really nice article on the ECHL. It mentions former players, coaches, officials...heck, even announcers that have gotten experience down there and gone on to bigger and better things. I had *no* idea that Johnathan Quick was an ECHL grad. I'm thinking he is their best player ever?

 

 http://www.echl.com/number-of-echl-players-to-reach-nhl-increases-to-505-p182557

If he is not yet, likely will be. Tim Thomas and Olaf Kolzig jump out as well

[yave1964]

@jammer2

Glendening more and more is reminding me of Draper, one of the all time unheralded players to have ever laced them up. Played all situations, against anyone, any time, i believe the offense will come around eventually, i dont see him as a top six player but as a quality bottom six, 35-40 points well within the realm of possibility once he gets it going. And wearing down the other teams top line. Losing last night to Stamkos (but a moral victory, rallying for a point late) was the best thing that could hapen to a guy like Glendening, pitting himself against the top tier players will only make him better.

 

  As to Tatar, he is out of options so he has to stay, frankly he is showing signs of coming around so i think he will be fine. Jurco should spend a bit of time in Grand Rapids to get it back together, put him on a line with Andy Miele and let him find his game. I see him as a third liner anyway but he has been out of sorts. He doesnt do a great job of back checking and is not a super scorer, he has to provide something to earn his ice time.

[SpikeDDS]

@jammer2

Glendening more and more is reminding me of Draper, one of the all time unheralded players to have ever laced them up. Played all situations, against anyone, any time, i believe the offense will come around eventually, i dont see him as a top six player but as a quality bottom six, 35-40 points well within the realm of possibility once he gets it going. And wearing down the other teams top line. Losing last night to Stamkos (but a moral victory, rallying for a point late) was the best thing that could hapen to a guy like Glendening, pitting himself against the top tier players will only make him better.

Even though Stamkos still tallied 2, 1 on the PP.

If he is gonna be like Draper, one thing that made Drapes much more indispensable was his ability to win faceoffs. That is the one skill that as his speed declined was still needed by the team. Luke would be wise to refine a crucial skill like that to increase his value.

Draper was one of my favorite role-playing Wings ever. I just wish he could have learned to finish a bit better. How many times would he break away only to be stopped? Oh, but he made things exciting. A GREAT attitude. Great bench leader. And practical joker with the best of them!